The United Nations has condemned the military government in Burma for what the UN says are severe human rights abuses inflicted to quell internal dissent.

In a resolution adopted without a vote, the UN General Assembly said that the Burmese authorities condoned rape, torture, mass arrests, forced labour and summary executions.

The resolution, which mirrors others in previous years, urged the government to release political prisoners and allow the opposition National League for Democracy and its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, to operate freely. The resolution was based on a report which said some of the worst violence was committed against civilians belonging to ethnic minorities, particularly the Shan, Karen, Karenni and Rohingya groups.

The only bright spot, the resolution said, was the permission given to the Red Cross to visit detainees in Burma earlier this year.